Black Friday campers: It's about tradition

By Matthew Woods mwoods@mdn.net

Published 2:30 am, Friday, November 29, 2013

Photo: Neil Blake/Midland Daily News

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NEIL BLAKE | nblake@mdn.netMatt Seward, 17, left, and Quayd Short, 18, both of Breckenridge, kill time waiting for Black Friday sales on Tuesday by playing Xbox 360. "It's not even about (the sales)," Short said. "It's tradition." They are the first in line at Best Buy and set up camp last Friday to hold their spot. less

NEIL BLAKE | nblake@mdn.netMatt Seward, 17, left, and Quayd Short, 18, both of Breckenridge, kill time waiting for Black Friday sales on Tuesday by playing Xbox 360. "It's not even about (the sales)," Short ... more

Photo: Neil Blake/Midland Daily News

Black Friday campers: It's about tradition

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For some people, there is more to Black Friday than the deals.

“It’s not about the deals anymore. It is about the tradition for us,” said 18-year-old Quayd Short of Breckenridge. He, along with a changing number of friends, have been camped out in an ice fishing shanty on the sidewalk of Best Buy in Midland since Friday. Last Friday, Nov. 22.

Their accommodations are anything but lavish, but the group is comfortable and staying warm. They are fully equipped with a tote of food, beverages, a generator to power their game systems, space heater laptops and phones, and they have been making regular visits to Walmart for supplies. And when they don’t feel like eating what they brought, one of the group makes a run to McDonald’s for something hot. They even managed to equip their tent with a real mattress. Rest room facilities are supplied courtesy of Best Buy, when open, and Walmart.

“We can get five (people) in here,” said Curtis Doyle, of Breckenridge, proudly. “But you wouldn’t want to put anymore people in there.”

Doyle said he was comfortable in his shorts and short-sleeved shirt, lounging on his bedding. Outside, the temperature hovered around 26 degrees, but inside the shanty, it felt like it was in the 70s.

“We stay warm in here,” Doyle said. He pointed to the silver-lined walls of the shanty. “Those are emergency blankets.”

Short’s older brother, Brittin, had donated the silver mylar survival blankets to help keep his younger brother and friends warm.

“He (Brittin) brought the blankets by Saturday night when it was really cold. Made it much warmer in here,” said Doyle.

“My brother Brittin used to do this and he kind of got us into it,” Short said.

The guys had a neighbor in another tent, just two feet from their door. They were unavailable for comment.

“We have seen them here in other years,” Short said. “They must like to come here for this too.”

The unofficial rules of camping out in front of a store during Black Friday sales is that someone has to stay in the camp at all times, so as to keep their spot.

Trent North was busy looking around the shanty for his missing Go Pro, a wearable camera favored by skiers, skateboarders and other daredevils. He brought it along to document his stay.

“It’s missing. It was right here,” he said, pointing at an empty corner of a plastic tote. “I am not happy right now.”

North, now in his second year of Black Friday camping, said that with all the people around during the week, it is best to keep an eye on things.

“We have a code if something is missing,” Short said with a laugh. “If someone loses their phone or something, they yell ‘code red’ and everybody stops and looks for it.”

When asked about securing the generator purring just around the corner, Short said that they have it covered.

“We have three locks on it,” he said.

To pass the time, they have been playing Call of Duty: Ghosts and Grand Theft Auto 5 on a flat screen TV in the corner of the shanty.

When pressed as to what they may try to purchase when Best Buy opens, the group shrugged their shoulders.

“Maybe a laptop for college,” Doyle said.

“Or a flat screen TV,” Short added.

Although they said they love the tradition, this will probably be the last camp for a while.

“We all have to go to college next year,” Doyle said.

“But maybe we can do it again when we are in college,” Short added hopefully, looking around the camp at his friends.